Nienaber announces strong side for first test

Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber and SARU director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has left no stone unturned as they named a very strong 23-man side ahead of the first test against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday.

The duo moved their team announcement up by one day and admitted to playing open cards with the touring coach Warren Gatland.

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The starting XV includes 14 world cup winners, making the home side a force to be reckoned with.

Despite the lack of game time as a unit over the past few weeks leading into the test, Nienaber and Erasmus seem to be confident that their troops will deliver on the day.

After the South Africa A side picked up a 17-13 win over the tourists, Gatland has had a sour taste in his mouth and will look to fix that come Saturday.

According to critics and analysts, the Boks should take the series 3-0, but rugby is a funny game and the bounce of the ball needs to favour you on the day to be successful.

Avid fans are relishing this opportunity to see their world cup winning side in action again, after Covid-19 sidelined the number one ranked side in the world.

With the tourists only coming to SA every 12 years, players will be pumped up to grab their opportunity with both hands as this normally happens once in a player’s career.

All banter and mind games will come to an end between the two camps when they clash at Cape Town Stadium at 6pm on Saturday.

Springbok team – 1 Ox Nché, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Kwagga Smith, 9 Faf de Klerk, 10 Handre Pollard, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 12 Damian de Allende, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 14 Cheslin Kolbe and 15 Willie le Roux.

Bomb squad – 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Elton Jantjies and 23 Damian Williemse.